Sheldon, Howard, Raj and Leonard, the characters in the hilarious comedy, the ‘Big Bang Theory’ are supposedly working at Cal Tech, as the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena is commonly called. Of course, we viewers never see the actual campus–only the sets on a sound stage in Studio City or Hollywood. Because the campus is close to my home, I decided to walk over and take some photos on a hot Spring Sunday afternoon.
Cal Tech is among the most elite colleges in the U.S. Only 900 students plus 1200 graduate students study here. And there are Nobel Prize winners all over the place. I attended a lecture a couple of years ago by Stephen Hawkings. Foolishly, I didn’t arrive at Beckman Auditorium until about a half an hour before the evening lecture began and ended up listening and watching it on big screen TV posted outside, along with hundreds of other late-arrivers.
And if you think Sheldon Cooper is punctilious, he barely holds his own against the staff of Cal Tech. Lectures begin on the dot of the hour scheduled and never run a minute beyond the scheduled time.
A bit of trivia: Cal Tech was founded by Amos Throop in 1891 and until 1920 it was known as Throop College of Technology. There is a Throop Memorial garden in the center of the campus. Throop, a religious liberal, also founded a univeralist church that is right up the street from my home. It’s where I vote on election day.
And about Penney’s job. Yes, there is a Cheesecake Factory in Pasadena at the corner of Raymond and Colorado in Old Town.
